The upcoming Global Digital Forum will focus on the development of the Internet, the future of digital platforms, and the digital sovereignty of states. Today, there is growing interest in the development of regional digital platforms in the Global South, which together could potentially create an alternative to the monopoly of the largest digital giants and offer the people of the world fair mechanisms of interaction in the digital environment. Although at the moment alternative social media platforms still cannot compete in terms of reach and technology with transnational digital giants, the trend towards the sovereignty of the online space is evident. This is confirmed by the growing popularity of alternative services and solutions, as well as by the number of restrictions and bans imposed by developing countries on the activities of global social media platforms.
Participants of the Global Digital Forum who are interested in this topic can read the study ‘Alternative Social Platforms of the World Majority’, which was prepared by the BRICS & SCO Innovative Diplomacy Center, ANO Colaboratoria and the Centre for Global IT Cooperation.
The study analyzed 80 social platforms in 133 countries. Based on the data collected, the study attempts to determine how significant is the influence of regional, national and other local social media networks and messengers that are not among the largest global platforms under the control of TNC-giants.
A team of researchers and experts asks whether the platforms of the Global South have the potential for growth, whether they have the resources and opportunities to transform digital communications for the better, to demonstrate a more progressive and equitable way of their further development for the benefit of people.
The authors of the report propose a concerted collaboration of the World Majority countries to develop fair and equitable mechanisms for social communications, including to counter today's challenges and Internet threats.
The report is available at the website of the Centre for Global IT Cooperation - https://cgitc.ru/research/alternativnye-sotsialnye-platformy-mirovogo-bolshinstva/, as well as in the Scientific Electronic Library «eLibrary.ru» - https://elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=80319929.
On the first day of the Forum (6 June 2025), as part of the business programme of Block 1 Go Global, Stay Diverse: Preserving Cultural and Linguistic Specificity of Technologies, the session ‘Digital Independence: How to Resist the Monopoly of Global Platforms’ will be held, organised by the Centre for Global IT Cooperation.
